Below is a list of eyewitness accounts from news agencies in the area as well as blogs and Twitter postings.

None of the accounts or sites below has been vetted for accuracy:

NDTV.com, New Delhi Television Limited

"I had come from the U.S. last night and was sleeping in my room at the ninth floor when at 10:30 p.m., I suddenly heard noises in the lobby. People were running in panic. When I inquired, one of the hotel occupants told me that some terrorists have entered the place and are threatening the people," said a person name Punya, who was staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel.

At 11 p.m., a hotel worker told Punya to to lock up his room and windows.

"I started receiving calls and SMSs from friends and family members who were worried about my safety. They informed me about the gravity of the situation. It was scary," Punya said.

Punya was holed up in the hotel for 15 hours before he was able to escape at 1:30 p.m. local time.

"When I was coming out, I saw a lot of blood stains on the floor," Punya said. "I inquired about it and came to know that a couple of hotel staff were killed."

"Me and my friend escaped down the fire exit, but I think they took more people upstairs. They tried to get to the roof ... [with] about 15 people, i think about half were foreigners. There were two gunmen, young boys, maybe 20 years old ... 25. There was a lot of smoke, but they had two guns. They came from the restaurant and took us up the stairs. They had bombs. There was something, because there was a lot of smoke. They wanted anyone with British or American passport ... so I guess they were after foreigners."

"I was just sitting and reading the paper. ... I started seeing the sound was increasing and bodies started falling and all of the bloodshed. ... People were crying; people were limping. We were frightened; we started to run. I was trying to see if I could see anyone carrying a gun or anything, but I couldn't."

"I was fortunate to have managed to escape the hostage situation at the Taj hotel located near the Gateway of India. ... I heard a loud explosion and the firing, and all those present at the hotel lobby were bundled into the hotel basement by the hotel staff. I had come down to Mumbai to meet a business client at the Taj hotel. There were people running everywhere. It was a panic situation. ... It went on for 15 to 20 minutes. After they caused an impact, the gunmen moved away, and that is when managed to escape with some others."

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-- Jacob Joseph Thuthanparambil, a Dubai- based Indian who was in Mumbai for a meeting, described the shooting and grenade-throwing as what "you see in video games."

Rediff.com -- Rediff India Abroad

"At around 9 p.m., all of us came to the ground floor to have dinner. When we were eating, we heard heavy firing. It was so rapid that I thought someone was celebrating with crackers. Then we heard huge blasts. The waiters told us that it seemed to be a terrorist attack. The senior staff then took all of us to the back of the hotel. We were in the swimming pool area and asked to lie on the ground. All the MPs and parliamentary officers were holed up there on the floor for some 60 to 80 minutes. We heard the sounds of firing without uttering a word. One injured foreigner was also with us. We were some 50, 60 people, waiting to escape. We didn't know what was going to happen next."

"The taxi was shattered to pieces. Only the [tires] and the chassis were left. Three people died in the taxi. One victim's head flew 10 feet onto the divider. You cannot tell who the victims were or their age; they were injured so badly. Flesh was all around."

Alex Chamberlain, a Briton who works for Indian Premier League cricket, was in the Oberoi hotel when the attackers opened fire. Chamberlain said that a group of about 40 people was "marched up like sheep" to the roof by a "young guy with a submachine gun, who was about 22 or 23."